Zootopia: Lost and Human
by SuperSniperEagleMan
Summary: Humans had disappeared eons ago. In it's place, it got the animals that built back up civilization. Two of them, Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde, is a duo who had saved their home of Zootopia and now worked as a police duo protecting and serving. But DID humans disappear? When first evidence, then a stranger appeared out of nowhere, it turned out there was a sinister side to the story...
1. A Dark Night Hitchhike

**At the end of last month, I did an overseas vacation with a friend, that included a cruise to multiple places around Vietnam. While on the cruise, I felt the lightbulb of story writing, and made a whole 7 chapters for a Zootopia idea I got.**

**Now, after getting a blank mind of forgetfulness and dealing with TAFE, I'm gonna try to upload them. Maybe once a week. Here's the first chapter. Enjoy.**

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**11:23pm, On A Dark Road Outside Zootopia...**

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_"...the debates continue to rage on. Conversations about humans are sweeping across the land, and are showing no signs of slowing down. Police are being dispatched to make sure nothing escalates, and citizens are asked to report any sightings of heated arguments immediat-" _**Click**

The forest bear driving the blue car turns off the radio, sighing. "These debates are going to get some of us killed, I swear."

His wife, sitting next to him in the passenger seat, pats him on the shoulder. "As long as we stay out of it, we'll be fine Jerry." She says reassuringly.

Jerry scowls and keeps his attention focused on the dark, lonely road ahead, a few leaves fluttering past the headlights.

The son in the backseat looks to his parents worriedly. "I sure hope we don't run into one. My friends say they're dangerous."

Jerry looks into the rear view mirror at his son. "Don't you worry about THAT, Dillon. They're gone. And for good reason."

Dillon wasn't so sure, but quietened down and simply sat back, doing his best to not fall asleep.

They drove in the silence for a while, until Jerry saw someone and slowed down to a stop. He had no choice, as the figure was standing in the middle of the road, blocking where they were driving. "Grr, moron. Trace, move him." He growled.

Trace sighed and got out of the car, walking over to the figure. It looked half the size of her, and she figured she could easily fend them off in a scuffle.

As she got closer, the details of the figure got more into view. A black leather coat with a hoodie, grey long pants and sneakers. They simply looked down at the ground as Trace approached, who tapped them on the shoulder. "Excuse me, can you get off the road?" She asked, trying to be polite.

The figure turned slightly to them, the shadow of their hoodie hiding their features. Trace grabbed their arm. "Please, you're blocking-"

Her plea was suddenly cut off as the figure suddenly fully turned to them and pointed a loaded tranquilizer revolver at them. Their hood swished around, and Trace gasped at the sight underneath.

She saw a sight that she never thought she would see. It seemed to be a human, a young man, but he had cat features on his face. Whiskers, pointed ears, small pink nose, and feline eyes. He had black fur on his ears, and a black paw held the tranquilizer gun. Trace even saw a black tail standing on end behind him.

The figure scowled at Trace, staring her down with darkened eyes. Jerry, watching from the car, watched in fear, not wanting to escalate the situation he was suddenly watching. "M-mummy!" Dillon in the back called out.

The figure sharply turned to the voice, his eyes staring down the young bear. Dillon seemed to hold his breath as he looked back, worry and desperation in his eyes.

The figure soon turned back to Trace, and used his tranquilizer gun to gesture to the car. "Get back in the car."

Trace quietly nodded and walked back to her seat, the figure following behind, his tranquilizer gun locked onto her. He opened the back of the car where Dillon was, and gestured to him to move down. "Make room, you."

Dillon sniffled and undid his seatbelt, then moved down to behind his father's seat, as the figure sat behind his mother. Once their seatbelts were done up, the figure pointed the tranquilizer gun at Trace through the hole near the top of the seat, and turned to Jerry. "Drive on."

Jerry got the car going again and continued on his route. Silence filled the air for a while, with only the sound of the car and wind outside. The figure never moved, his tranquilizer gun pointed intently at Trace. Dillon was worried, as he noticed the figure's strange features, and the figure soon noticed him staring. He turned to the young bear, and he looked at him worriedly. "Are... Are you a human?" He asked.

The figure scoffed. "Barely. I would call myself a neko, but that would imply I don't care about my people."

Dillon's worry was only slightly replaced by confusion, but decided to be quiet and wait nervously as his father drove on, soon coming to the outskirts of Zootopia.

On the border, two police officers came out and put out their paws to stop the car. Jerry got nervous about his family's safety due to the figure being armed, but it seemed he was prepared for this. Tranquilizer gun still held, he folded his arms into his coat, the gun now pointed at Dillon, and dipped his head, eyes closed. He held that position as the officer came up, a snow leopard.

The officer waited for Jerry to roll down his window then poked his head in. "Evening sir. May I ask what brings you to Zootopia?" He asked as he surveyed the inside.

Jerry, glancing at the bulge that was the tranquilizer gun in the side of the figures coat, kept his cool, speaking clearly so the figure could hear him. "I'm a resident here, officer. Me and my family were just coming back from a show."

The officer looked to the seeming to be sleeping figure. "HE doesn't seem like a family member."

Jerry shook his head. "No, officer. He's a friend of the family. He's had a long night, so we're helping to take him home." He explained.

The officer nodded and wrote something down in a notepad. "Any of you been drinking tonight?"

"No, officer."

"Seen any disturbances?"

"Disturbances?"

"Fights between citizens. They're getting rowdy due to the whole human thing."

"Oh. No, officer."

After a bit more writing, the officer stood aside. "Alright, thank you sir. Drive on, but be careful." He advised, gesturing to the city ahead.

"Will do. Thank you." With that, Jerry drove off.

Once the officers were out of sight, the figure got out of his position and stretched, then looked out the window, tranquilizer gun in hand. With no word of where he wanted to go, Jerry simply drove down his usual route back to home, tapping the steering wheel with a claw nervously.

They soon came to the main part of the city, where the dark sidewalks were lit by occasional streetlights. The figure pointed his tranquilizer gun at Jerry, watching the window. Taking the hint, Jerry slowed down, drifting slowly down the streets. Dillon whimpered and sunk into his seat, scared to move. The figure eventually noticed a long alleyway that diverted into other streets, and poked Jerry with the barrel of his tranquilizer gun.

"Stop here." He ordered.

Jerry stopped the car, and the figure unbuckled and got out. "Thanks for the help. Stay safe guys. The world is hell, even if you don't realize it."

The figure closed the door and wandered off into the alley, leaving the bears behind. They breathed a sigh of relief, and Jerry drove off.

After some tense silence, Trace spoke up. "Do we report him to police?"

Jerry shook his head. "Don't bother. Whatever he's up to, it's none of our business anymore."

Trace looked forward and hoped Jerry was right. Dillon, having gotten back into his original seat, hugged himself, wondering who that stranger was... And what would happen now that they had basically smuggled him into the city.

His mind couldn't help but think of the expressions of him. Tired. Angry. Perhaps... Scared?

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**Here we go! Nothing much to say except sorry for not being more active in... ANYTHING regarding fanfics. Let's just say RPing has taken over my life... whoops. Well, hope you enjoyed, and have a great rest of your day.**


	2. Save A Friend For Me

**The Next Day, 2:07pm...**

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The sun shined over Zootopia, the bipedal animal citizens walking around the streets. Cars drove down the road, a good portion being police on patrol. Inside and outside, the citizens chatted, but not about normal stuff, like recent events or the newest fashion trend. No, the conversation that buzzed through the city recently was something that had spiked in the last few days. Humans.

Ever since possible fragments of human remains popped up, news reports and talk shows on the TVs in some shops have been saying the same things.

"What IS a human?"

"How dangerous are humans?"

"They could be great if given a chance!"

"Good riddance to them! They're horrible!"

Everyone could only speculate and rumor, and it's even said that saying the wrong thing around the wrong crowd can lead to consequences.

As one young ferret was finding out, this was true. He was running down the streets, a group of other younglings in hot pursuit. One of them called out to him. "You can run, but you can't hide, Carlson!"

Carlson didn't bother looking back or retorting. He just kept running, desperately trying to find somewhere to lose them. He jumped benches, fences and a few cars to get away, but they group didn't slow down, and kept him in range.

Another of the group called out. "Surrender now, human lover!"

Carlson kept his attention focused on running away, and soon saw a tightly packed crowd in the distance. Knowing this could be his only chance, he dived into the crowd, wading through the many legs of the bigger citizens. The group followed him, but now they were having a harder time chasing.

The young ferret looked around for an exit and soon saw an alleyway. His mother had warned him about the dangers in alleyways, but right now, he had no choice. He waded through and ducked into the alley, and looked around at the different directions. With no time to think, he chose one at random and turned off. He could hear the group behind him yelling. "He's going into the alley!"

He saw the end of the alley was a long way off, and considered a moment turning around to find a shorter one. Just then, he found himself grabbed to behind a nearby dumpster, a paw on his belly and one over his mouth. He gave a muffled scream and looked to his capter. He found himself looking into the face of a human/cat hybrid, who looked at him with what he guessed was an attempt to be reassuring.

"He's down here!" The sounds of the group suddenly came from the alley Carlson came from, and the stranger looked over for a moment then back to him. Taking a paw off his belly, he unzipped his coat a bit and suddenly stuffed Carlson into it, zipping it back up then going to a neutral position.

Carlson panicked, wondering a moment what would happen to him, then the group suddenly came up and stood in the centre of the alleys. He held his breath, trying not to give away his position.

The group came up to the stranger, and a young tiger stepped forwards. "Hey you! Where's that ferret gone?!"

The stranger shrugged. "Where does anyone go? Probably to a bathroom somewhere to reflect their life choices."

A young dalmatian behind the young tiger sniffed the air, coming up to the stranger, suspicion in his face and voice. "Oh yeah? Is that so?"

He got closer, and Carlson almost shook in fear. He felt the stranger feel around, looking for something in his inner pockets, and juuuuuuust as the dalmatian got close, the stranger suddenly pulled out a strong and sweet smelling spray and used it on the group.

They coughed and hacked from the unexpected attack, rubbing their noses and eyes. "Ugh! (Cough), that's rank!"

The stranger rolled his eyes. "It's rose scented, you uncultured dolts."

A young panda growled at him and stepped forward, looking to hit him, but the stranger suddenly pulled out a tranquilizer revolver and pointed it at him. "Not another step."

The panda froze and backed off, and stranger put it away. The group saw what the stranger looked like, and muttered amongst each other as the young tiger crossed his arms. "Alright, listen you creepy jerk, just tell us where the ferret went and we'll be out of here."

The stranger crossed his arms. "Eh, who knows. I hear fortune tellers know the answers." The eyes looked to the tiger. "As well as strangers who want compensation for services and wasting their stuff."

The young tiger glared at the stranger, then turned to the others. "Hey, how much you guys got?!"

Emptying their pockets, the group managed to rangle together about $50, and gave it to the stranger. He looked it over as Carlson prepared to get outed, then the stranger pointed down one of the alleys. "Down that way, headed to the right."

"Finally! Come on!" The group finally ran off out of the alley system.

Once they were gone, the stranger unzipped his coat a bit, letting Carlson poke his head out, taking in deep breaths of air. He soon turned to the stranger's face with a look of gratitude. "Phew! Thanks so much mister! Those guys almost beat all the fur off my skin."

The stranger nodded and looked forward. "Yeah, no problem. Plus, got some money from it, so I can't complain."

Carlson smiled and tried to get out. However his smile faded as he found the hole to be too small, and suddenly, the stranger zipped the coat up a bit, trapping his neck. He panicked a bit, almost wanting to scratch at the stranger to let him go. But he knew that would be a bad idea considering his revolver. "M-mister?!"

The stranger looked down at him. "Sorry buddy, but you're not going anywhere for the moment. I'm gonna need you for a bit for some extra cash, as well as have some company for a while. I mean, do you know how lonely it gets back here?"

The ferret shock his head nervously. "N-no?"

"Exactly. So don't be so rude." The stranger got on his feet, unzipping his cost a bit. "Now crawl back inside, and no funny ideas, or it's the tranquilizer for you. Or worse."

Carlson gulped and crawled back inside the coat, hanging on the inside. The stranger zipped back up and walked off, his hoodie concealing his identity.

The stranger soon wandered into a coffee shop, using some of his money to buy a spinach and cheese roll, and a hot chocolate. The patrons inside gave him weird looks, but didn't get a good look at his face. Carlson stayed quiet, his eyes looking around at the shadows of the others outside the coat. Despite tempting thoughts, he didn't call out, and simply looked around nervously.

As the stranger ate his small meal, he went over to another shop, this one selling multiple writing utensils. When no one was around, he carefully tore a page from one of the bigger books off, then grabbed a pen sample. He quickly wrote on the poster.

_Young Ferret Found_

_Willing To Give Back For A Price_

_Find In Alley Near Napan Street_

With the poster done, he stuffed it into his coat and put the pen back. Once he had exited the shop, he started heading to the town centre. As he walked, Carlson started talking, becoming more and more scared, yet interested in this individual. "Who... Who are you, mister?"

The stranger looked straight ahead, looking out for anyone nearby. "Nobody you would know, I can say that much."

"Please tell me mister. I won't tell anyone, I promise!"

The stranger sighed. "Someone who's horrible world is only getting worse. Someone who's... Honestly scared about what's happening right now."

Carlson felt a slight pang of pity, and hugged the stranger under his coat. "I'm sorry to hear that, mister. But... Won't doing this only make this even worse?"

"Maybe. It's all I can think right now though. Trust me, if you were in my position, you would be wanting to do some crazy things right now in a desperate attempt to make things a little more tolerable."

"Is it because... You're a kind of human?"

"...yeah, that's part of it."

The stranger soon got to the town centre, and put the poster up on the fountain. He soon after returned to his alley, and went back to his spot. Sitting on the ground, he leaned against the dumpster, looking at the entrance to the alley. He unzipped his jacket a bit, letting Carlson breathe.

"Can you at least tell me your name, mister?"

"... Tobias. You?"

"I'm Carlson."

Tobias nodded. "Carlson, you don't know the scale of what's going on right now. Nobody does. Once the time comes, you'll know. For now, know this."

He pulled back his hoodie a moment, letting Carlson see his full head. As well as the features mentioned before, there were spots of fur littered about his head and neck, even some under his black hair.

"This here, this is not what I looked like before."

"It. ..it isn't?" Carlson gasped, carefully using a paw to feel the fur spots. He also felt the twisted hybrid's own paws. "What... did you look like?"

"Smoother. Different shaped face. Five digit hands. You know... Human." Tobias soon moved Carlson's paws away and pulled his hoodie back over. "I'm a freak now, on both sides. There's no denying it."

Carlson looked up, feeling rather sorry for him. "I mean, I guess. But at least you're... Kind of nice. You helped me escape those bullies."

Tobias sighed. "That won't be enough merit, I promise you. Trust won't come easily."

"...I trust you."

"That's a risk, you know."

Carlson hugged him. "It's one I'm willing to take."

Tobias simply sat there, sighing. Carlson sat there in the awkward silence a while, unsure what to say. He soon had a thought.

"Hey Tobias, why do you have rose-scented spray?"

"It's a small reminder to the life I once had. I loved roses, and my mother used to grow them. Father... Well, he didn't really understand, but he was still supportive."

"Ooh, really? Where are they?"

"...they're somewhere I can't reach them."

Before Carlson could ask what he meant, a voice came from the entrance of the alley. "Honey?"

The two turned to the voice, a mother ferret, as she stepped into the alley and approached the two. She looked nervously at Tobias, who looked back, straight faced but secretly happy for the distraction. "You the mother?"

The mother nodded. "What do you want?"

Tobias put out a paw. "Cash. Give me enough and I'll give back your son. He's been a good boy, so I'm willing to be nice."

The mother looked nervously to Carlson, who smiled at her. "Don't worry mother! He IS a nice guy, honest!"

The mother got out her purse from her handbag and took out $200, showing it to Tobias. "This is all I have right now."

Tobias took the cash and nodded. "Fair enough." He unzipped his jacket enough for Carlson to jump out and run back over to his mother.

She bent down and took her son in her arms. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you?"

Carlson shook his head. "No, he's nice! He actually helped me escape some bullies!"

Tobias stood up, stretching a bit. "You may want to keep a close eye on him. This city is getting dangerous with the conversation recently. Watch your step." With that, he simply walked away.

The mother watched him go, then lead her son away, heading back to their house. As she walked, she got out her cell phone, and called 911. "...Hello? Can I speak to the LPD?"

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**A Few Minutes Later, Zootopia LPD...**

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A water buffalo sat at his desk, looking over the papers on it. As he read, a call came on his nearby phone. Sighing, having a hunch he knew what it was about, he picked it up and started speaking.

"Chief Bongo here. Where's the argument being held?"

"...Really? What is it then?"

"...I see. Suspect details?"

"...He had WHAT?"

"Hmm... At which address?"

"...Understood. Thank you."

He put the phone down and thought a moment, rubbing his eyes. Finally, he turned to a nearby microphone. Pressing the button, he gave the order, speaking loud and with authority.

"This is Chief Bongo. Officer Hops and Officer Wilde, report to my office immediately. I repeat, Officer Hops and Officer Wilde, report to my office immediately."

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**Not much to say on this... life is life, right? Bleh, I'll try to post on Saturdays. Till next chapter, have a wonderful rest of your day.**


	3. Reporting For Duty

**Earlier That Day, 7:28am...**

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A female bunny in a police uniform hopped eagerly into the police station. As expected, she had gotten up bright and early, ready for the day ahead. Behind her, a male red fox yawned and followed suit, clearly not used to this type of awakening schedule.

The bunny talked as they came in, trying to gesture to the red fox to get moving.

"Come on, Nick!"

"(Yawn), I'm coming, I'm coming. Jeez Judy, it's not like the donuts will be gone anytime soon."

"I'm don't WANT donuts, Nick. I WANT to get to the morning meeting!"

"Really? Huh, I could've sworn there were mentions of donuts as we were coming..."

"That was you, slick."

"Oh yeah. Heh."

The two chuckled as they went through the station, and soon arrived in the meeting room, bang on time. A water buffalo had just finished writing on a whiteboard and had turned to the officers string at the desks around the room. He grumpily watched Nick and Judy take a seat, then put his hooves behind his back and cleared his throat. The room fell into silence, and looked to attention.

On a name tag, Chief Bongo was written. He looked over the room then pointed to the whiteboard, where names and locations had been written, and some newspaper articles had been put up with magnets.

"Officers, these are your locations of patrol today. I want everyone on high alert and stun guns at the ready. Reports of argument induced violence has been steadily increasing, and we need to make it clear to everyone that this is not tolerated in this city."

He wandered around as he spoke, soon coming to his chair behind a desk at the end of the room. He sat down... And a fart noise came from the chair. There were snickers around the room, and Judy gave an unimpressed glance at Nick, who simply smiled all oh so innocent like. Chief Bongo gave a deep sigh through his nose, glaring at Nick, then continued.

"I don't care if you're on the assaulter's side or not, I don't care if they're friend or family, I don't care if you share species, I couldn't even care less if you're butt buddies and you owe them a favour. Any hostility, and you make it clear that attitude is not welcome here, understood?"

The officers nodded, muttering a bit to each other. Nick chuckled and turned to some fellow officers. "I wonder if that'll include the chief."

Chief Bongo growled at the remark and banged his desk, glaring at Nick. "Officer Wilde, this is serious business! I don't want your unprofessional attitude right now! I want determination! I want care! I want-"

Nick put his paws up. "You basically want me to stop acting like a fool. And I can do that Chief, I promise."

He gestured to the room, his tone a little more serious. "Like seriously, I understand. I would love to entertain these guys all day, but the last thing I want is for someone to get hurt over a conversation about a species that disappeared hundreds of years ago."

He grinned. "And hey, if I fool around, you can be sure my partner will keep me in line."

Chief Bongo glanced at Judy, who was trying to stay focused. "Oh I'm sure Officer Hopps will." He then looked back at Nick. "Seriously though Officer Wilde, this isn't playtime anymore. I want to hear about you helping to keep everyone safe, not about your latest fun and games, understood?"

Nick put a paw over his chest and held the other up. "You can count on me Chief. Serve and protect, nothing more."

Chief Bongo nodded. "Alright, good." He gestured to the board. "Those are your patrol spots. Head there and keep everyone in line. Don't fail me, officers. Dismissed."

Everyone started to get up and check the board, then went in pairs out of the room. As Nick and Judy walked out, Judy looked up at the fox and spoke a little seriously.

"You really need to start being a bit more serious around here, Nick."

"Aww, really? I thought everyone was enjoying the small moments."

"Nick, I'm serious. This isn't the leisurely life of the streets anymore. This is the police force. We have duties to uphold and an image to maintain."

"I know, carrots. I know." Nick gave a sigh. "It's just boring doing that all the time. I want some excitement. Something unexpected. I want..."

His eyes look to Judy. "I want something like my old life. I mean sure it wasn't exactly moral, but at least it was something interesting."

Judy quickly looked around. "You better keep your voice down when you say that, Nick. If the Chief finds out you want that, you WILL be back to your old life."

"I mean, I wouldn't complain too much."

"But what about me?" Judy looked up to Nick, slightly hurt. "What would I do without my favourite sly fox?"

Nick smiled and patted her head. "That WOULD be something to complain about. I certainly couldn't keep going without my favourite dumb bunny."

Judy gave him a playful punch to the arm. "Officer Wilde, I think YOU'RE the one who'll be arrested before the Chief."

"And you won't with that kind of assault?"

The kept making playful remarks and laughing as they went to their car. The morning seemed to go smoothly for the two. Apart from a few slight arguments, nothing too much happened.

They eventually had a bit of a late lunch, due to helping out a possum with some marital problems from the human debate. Once they had their meal, they ate back at the station. Nick chowed down as he conversed and laughed with some on the fellow male officers, and Judy ate and chatted with a few female officers.

After some time though, and announcement came over the building's speaker system. "This is Chief Bongo. Officer Hopps and Officer Wilde, report to my office immediately. I repeat, Officer Hopps and Officer Wilde, report to my office immediately."

Nick and Judy looked to each other, the other officers looking intrigued, then the two quickly finished up and headed out of the break room up to the Chief's office.

They took their seats in front of Chief Bongo, who sat behind his desk looking at a piece of paper on a clipboard. He glanced at the two then put the clipboard down and looked to them.

"Hello you two."

Nick immediately spoke up. "Greetings Chief! What's going on? I usually end up here because of a screw up."

Chief Bongo looked to Nick. "Not today Officer Wilde. And I hope for your safety that means never. No, you and Officer Hopps have been called up here to investigate a call I just got."

Judy sat to attention. "What was it about Chief?"

"Apparently, some freak from an alley in the city held a kid ransom until his mother paid for the release. Nothing violent apparently, but the mother called in to report it."

Nick looked a little confused. "That's it? Just some homeless guy holding kids random? Doesn't seem too bad."

"Normally I would agree Officer Wilde, and I WOULD be telling someone else in this building about it. However, here's the catch..."

Chief Bongo put the paper on the clipboard in front of the two officers. It showed a sketch done of what looked like a cat, but had odd features about him. "THIS was apparently the suspect who did it."

Nick looked it over then looked to Chief Bongo surprised. "...this guy? Chief, you sure this mother wasn't sniffing paint before they called this in?"

The chief shook his head. "Not according to what I heard. She was perfectly fine and apparently a bunch of those details were explained by the son who got held ransom. He was also perfectly fine and they swear that's what he looked like."

Chief Bongo looked to the two intently. "I don't know who this is, but I'm going to need you two to find him. He was apparently last spotted in an alley on Nepan street."

Judy took the picture and put it into her pocket. "You can count on us Chief!"

Nick nodded. "You know it! We'll find out what going on."

Chief Bongo pointed to the door. "Then get moving!"

Nick and Judy quickly headed out the door and building, soon getting to their car. With Judy at the wheel, they headed into the main part of the city, with Judy keeping an eye out as Nick read the details of their suspect.

"Suspect apparently called himself Tobias. Male, young adult, black fur, wears a black coat, probably spends his time listening to Goth..."

"Nick..."

"Right, sorry. Professional."

Nick kept reading it over, then read out a warming on the bottom of the back page. "Danger: Suspect is said to be armed with tranquilizer gun. Proceed with caution."

Judy soon found somewhere to park and expertly parked the car. "We'll have to watch his actions carefully when we find him. Act like nothing is wrong until we get up close."

"Got it. It would probably help if we weren't wearing police clothes, but hey, what can you do."

The two got out of the car and began the hunt. Keeping a moderate distance but making sure they could see each other, they began walking down the sidewalks of the streets. A crowd was starting to form around them, but they kept their wits up, ready to deal with whatever was around the corner.

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**To ****dutchmaniac about his question, yes, there will pure humans, but they'll be MUCH later in the story, and... well, I won't spoil anything.**

**Thanks for reading, and have a great rest of your day.**


	4. Chasing A Myth

Legs and hips and legs and hips. Oh hey, a torso! This was the sight and mind of Judy and Nick, as they went through the crowding sidewalks, trying to find their suspect. They maintained their decent distance apart, and kept and eye out for someone in a black coat, since that was their best description right now.

Judy, at the front, looked through the crowd and noticed a hooded individual wearing a black coat up ahead. She turned to Nick and gestured, who soon saw him too and nodded. The kept up their casual walk, heading towards the suspect.

They watched his paw suddenly slip past a females bag and take out a paper slip of money, quickly pocketing it. Nick growled at seeing this and almost ran forward, but Judy heard him and shot him a look, keeping him from blowing their cover.

The suspect soon seemed to look around, most notably the windows across the street. Confused, Nick turned to see what he was looking at, then instantly regretted it. Large shop windows were across the street, and the suspect was looking at the reflection of them to look behind him. As soon as he saw the blue of Nick, his pace seemed to quicken, his walk going to a speed walk.

Judy realized his change of pace and carefully weaved through the crowd to keep the suspect in her sight. Nick, now fearing the windows on the opposite side of the street, did his best to keep up, moving behind others walking the same way to conceal himself as best he could.

The figure soon got to a hot dog stand, where he stopped. Thinking they had figured he was gone, Nick quickly walked to just behind Judy, who was now making a beeline for the suspect, ready to grab and question him at the first sign of a struggle.

It never came though, as the suspect seemed to turn and see the two approaching. He looked back to the stand as if not noticing them, then just as they were approaching, he suddenly turned and grabbed a young girl poodle, and tossed her up to a ledge on the nearby building. She screamed and grabbed on, holding to not fall back down and splat into the hard pavement.

Nick and Judy were shocked, and quickly looked to the sudden situation. That was what the suspect needed, and he tipped over the hot dog stand in front of the two officers, spilling the contents all over, before running off.

Judy instinctively backed away, but Nick realized what he was doing, and vaulted the tipped stand. He called back to Judy as he gave chase. "Help the poodle! I'll go after him!"

Judy nodded and quickly looked around for a ladder or something as she helped clean the mess suddenly on the ground. The citizens had stopped by now, and either helped as well, or stood under the dangling poodle, ready to catch her if needed.

Nick dashed down the streets after the fleeing suspect. It didn't matter if they were what they were looking for anymore. No way he was HIM get away!

The suspect was fast, and managed to keep ahead of Nick. He turned some corners trying to lose the fox, then suddenly Nick turned a corner and found him gone. Not deterred though, he looked around, and noticed a nearby large door for an abandoned garage slightly open.

Nick crawled under the hole and found some cover behind a support column. Peaking around the corner, he soon saw the suspect, rummaging through whatever was in the trunk of the jeep that sat in the garage. He started sneaking around, watching the suspect closely, making sure not to bump into anything that might make a noise.

The suspect soon seemed to be done with whatever he had been doing back there, and closed the trunk. Nick quickly took action, and sprang at him, knocking him into the door to the trunk. The suspect fell in a daze, crashing into the floor and looking to Nick, who had grabbed his hoodie.

"Gotcha! No place to run now..."

He flipped the hood back, and saw the head and face underneath. He froze, staring in shock at what he was looking at.

"...h-human?!"

The suspect that the paper said called himself "Tobias", went wide eyed and punched Nick away, sending him into a nearby workbench. He picked himself back up and flipped the hoodie back over himself as he ran full tilt away from the fox, bashing open a nearby door to the rooftop.

Nick had recovered a few moments afterwards and continued the chase, following Tobias up the ladder to the roof. Any anger had been replaced with shock, and he hoped the roof would provide a way to corner Tobias, not to hurt him, but to talk to him.

No such luck though. Tobias ran across and jumped across to another building, looking like he was heading for the fire escape. But once he saw Nick jump over as well, he changed course and kept building hopping.

He was soon approaching a larger building, an apartment block, and with Nick right behind him, he had no choice. Nick watched as Tobias leaped from the building straight into the other building's window, crashing through and landing in a heap on the floor. A panda couple on the bed inside came out from the covers and looked in horror, but Tobias ignored them and crashed through the door.

Nick knew chasing him like this would be insane, and went another direction. He made his way down the nearby catwalks and slid down the ladder at the bottom to the ground below. He turned out and headed into the building. Rushing past a confused and scared receptionist, he headed for the stairs, looking to block him off there.

But Tobias had taken yet another route. He went down the hallway and opened a window to out front. Climbing out, he hung over the edge, and dropped down to the next ledge until he fell onto his feet on the ground. The receptionist saw him, and having a feeling he was the reason for the officer, she called to him. "He's over here!"

Nick heard the call and rushed back, as Tobias took off again, running down an alley. Nick followed him, jumping over any bins and garbage the suspect tried to leave to slow him down.

Tobias soon ran down an alley that lead to a dead end, and Nick felt sure now he had him trapped. Insanely though, Tobias was ready for even this, and leaped to the nearby wall, jumping between them to get higher, until he managed to grab and clamber him way over the dead end. Nick screeched to a halt, and heard a crash as Tobias landed on garbage on the other side to cushion his fall.

This suspect was proving to be too much, and Nick decided it was time to bring some backup. He rushed back to the sidewalks and quickly determined where he was and where the suspect would have headed off too. Grabbing the radio, he made the call.

"This is Officer Wilde! I have a suspect on the run down Cori road and heading to Fai street! He's wearing black and is extremely agile! Anyone in the area who can help, find him and give me his location!"

He kept running down the street, looking around, when a call came back on his radio. "Officer Wilde, this is Officer Geral! I have visual on your suspect and are in pursuit! Heading him off now to the Backfur main road! Anyone else in the area, provide assistance!"

Nick looked around at signs and made a beeline for the highway around where Tobias would have gone. More chatter came in on his radio.

"This is Officer Yune! I'm heading south down the Backfur main road! Are you able to come the opposite to corner the suspect?"

"Affirmative Officer Yune! I'm on the way head north up the Backfur main road to cut the suspect off! He seems to be coming up from a t-section though, from Uropean street! I need someone to stop him from going back!"

Nick saw a sign and raced down, grabbing the radio. "Officers, this is Wilde! I'm heading down Uropean street now! Head to there and get ready to cut off the suspect!"

As he put the radio back, another call came in. "Wilde, this is Officer Hopps! I'm coming to meet you down Trah road!"

Nick soon saw Tobias looking around, heading to a Backfur main road's corner. In the distance, an elephant officer and a polar bear officer heading to the t-section from opposite sides, Judy heading his direction on the opposite side of the street and the traffic was thick on the main road itself. Time to trap him.

Tobias looked around desperately, and saw all exits blocked. One street had two officers on both sides, and two had one down narrow sidewalks. The wall next to him was too high to climb, and traffic littered the street before him. With the four officers closing in, he knew he had to make a decision fast.

To the officers shock, and with dread in his heart, Tobias ran headlong into the traffic, weaving and dodging the cars as they came past. The officers met at the street corner, but Nick wouldn't take no for an answer, and rushed after him.

Judy watched in horror. "Nick?! Nick, stop!"

Nick didn't bother answering, keeping his eyes focused on avoiding cars and Tobias.

Eventually though, it all came to an end. A truck carrying a large load and two cars blared their horns as Tobias came to the other side, but he kept going. With skill and probably a pray to god, Tobias slid under the load of the truck as it went past. One of the cars swerved to avoid hitting him, banging into the other car and sending it into a spin. They all braked hard, and car came to a stop where Nick was, smacking into him. The other car swerved and stopped sideways, and the truck squealed it's tires and came to a stop too.

Nick was sent to the ground, but managed to pick himself back up, though leaning on a nearby barrier, and look to where Tobias had run off in time to see him dive through the nearby foliage and disappear. He was about to continue giving chase, when Judy ran up to him.

"Nick! Are you alright?!"

Nick nodded, his gaze focused on where Tobias had gone. "Yeah. I'm fine."

The sounds of horns blaring snapped him out of the trance, and he looked to see a pileup due to the cars and truck stopping in the road, the drivers and passengers getting out in shock. He knew his officer duties said he needed to help them, and Judy pulled on his sleeve as the other two officers ran over to help.

"Come on, Nick. Forget about him. We've got citizens to help."

With a defeated sigh, Nick turned and rushed over to one of the drivers, checking if they were okay.

It took a couple hours before the traffic could get moving again, and news vans were nearby to report the whole thing. During the clean up and check ups though, Nick's mind never seemed to completely be on what he was doing. His mind kept going back to Tobias. He didn't know who he was, he didn't know what happened to him, and now he didn't even know where he had gone.

There was only one thing he DID know though. This whole incident was NOT going to lead to anything good.

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** In reply to Matthew Schaible, I'm not planning to ship ANYONE in this fanfic... maybe. I haven't decided yet.  
**

**Hope you enjoyed reading, and have a great rest of your day.**


	5. Controversy For The Camera

**Well damn... I almost forget to keep uploading this. Oops.**

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**That Evening, About 5:48pm, Front Of Zootopia LPD...**

Unwanted attention was nothing new to the Zootopia LPD, being officers of the law. Every time something happened that the city that involved them, they would be flocked to by the media masses to get their side and assure everyone everything was fine, and it seemed that every officer would have to have a moment in front of the camera to talk about recent events.

Today in the line of fire and camera flashes: Nick Wilde. After helping to clean up the accident on the Backfur main road and getting everyone moving again, he had had media on his tail since the victims had mentioned seeing him on the road chasing the one who caused the accident.

Judy and the other two officers had done their best to help back them off, but that only lead to the media coming to the station for answers. Now, he stood near a podium, being told to give answers for what happened out there. Chief Bongo watched behind him, Judy at his side, understandably worried.

Soon, everyone was gathered and the cameras were rolling. Judy did his best to give Nick a hopeful look, and he nodded to her and walked to centre stage, everyone watching intently.

Looking out over the crowd, he took a breath and cleared his throat, then spoke clearly into the microphone. "Hello everyone. I'm sure you have many questions for what happened earlier, but I will be off duty soon, and as such, can only answer a few questions, so ask wisely."

The crowd muttered to themselves a moment at this info, then a blue jay flew forward. "Mr Wilde, why did this accident happen in the first place?"

"Simple answer, me and a few other officers were after a suspect that had apparently held someone ransom earlier. He must have gotten desperate to avoid arrest and ran off across the road."

A gazelle came up at this. "Mr Wilde, apparently you chased the suspect across the road. Do you confirm or deny this?"

"I can confirm it, and take responsibility for anyone I may have put in danger doing so, however it was for good reason, I assure you."

A skunk then came up. "Mr Wilde, why did you risk yourself for one suspect? Is he dangerous?"

"Not as far as I could tell. The main reasons for doing so I don't really want to get into, and please hold off asking about his motives or whatever, because they are still unclear. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

Nick attempted to get off the stage, having a bad feeling what was coming, but a panda bear stopped him. "Mr Wilde, one more question please. What CAN you tell us about the suspect?"

Nick got worried, and Judy saw the panic in his eyes. She tried to get to his side, but Chief Bongo held her shoulder, stopping her.

Nick sighed and looked back to the crowd. "There is one thing I know, however due to recent events, I can't really talk about it without causing a stir, so..."

The crowd started to swarm him, asking and wondering what he meant. Chief Bongo sensed something was going to happen and tried to move forward to end the conference.

But Nick had already given into the pressure. He held out his paws and the crowd quietened down a bit. Once he was mentally prepared, he looked out. "If you must know, I will say right now this does not reflect me or anyone else's opinion on the matter, and this is simply what I know, alright?"

When the crowd nodded, Nick took a deep breath. "I did manage to get a look at the face of the suspect... And it is my firm belief... That the suspect in question is... Or is at least part... Human."

The crowd gasped at this info, and Chief Bongo and Judy looked in shock at Nick. Judy almost wondered if this was a sick idea of a prank, but seeing how serious Nick looked, it almost seemed like he was telling the truth.

Nick looked around. "I don't know who he is, I don't why he did what he did, and I don't even know where he currently is. All I know is that he resembled part human, part cat, and that he may be armed. To anyone who encounters him, do not approach him, do not provoke him in any way, do not interrupt what he may be doing. If you see him, report him to me or anyone else at the LPD immediately. I don't currently believe he is dangerous, but I do know he will do what he can to avoid capture. When I saw him, he looked terrified. All I can say is, he obviously needs help, and with the assistance of you citizens, we will hopefully be able to give him the help he needs. Stay alert everyone, and keep safe. Thank you."

With that, Nick finally stepped away from the podium. Chief Bongo gave him a stern look, but one that seemed to have a little respect behind it, and traded places, saying a few more words to the media, who was now muttering and buzzing amongst each other.

Nick folded his arms, and Judy gave him a comforting pat on the side. "You did good, Nick. But... are you sure he was human?"

Nick looked down at Judy, nodded. "I'm completely sure. I saw him, and he had the features of a human."

"Is... that why you were so determined to catch him?"

"Yeah... Something is going on with him Judy, and I need to find out what it is."

Judy nodded and looked to Chief Bongo, who was coming back from the podium. The crowd was starting to disperse, no doubt shocked by this development, and the water buffalo gestured for the two to follow him, which they did.

Back in Chief Bongo's office, he sat and looked at the two officers, mainly Nick, with stern eyes as they sat in front of him. Finally, he looked to Nick and talked, his tone scarily serious.

"Officer Wilde... Do you understand just how serious the claims you're making are?"

Nick kept a straight face, looking Chief Bongo in the face and nodding. "Yes I do Chief."

Chief Bongo nodded slightly back. "And you promise me you're SURE that the suspect was or was part human?"

"I swear on my badge chief, that is the truth."

Chief Bongo took a deep breath and grabbed a piece of paper. After some writing, he handed it to Nick. "Here. This is an approval for a search party. If this suspect is what you claimed he is, he needs to be put in police custody immediately. Officer Wilde, Officer Hopps, find him."

The two nodded and headed out of the office, Nick carrying the paper. Judy could see the determination on his face, and gave a slight smile of approval. They headed off to their car, as they heard an announcement come over the speaker system.

"Attention Officers, this is Chief Bongo. We are launching a search party for a suspect that needs to be found immediately. If you are available, report to Officer Wilde and Officer Hopps in the parking lot, and follow their instructions. Thank you, and good luck."


	6. Tracking Down Tobias

**Some Time Later, 8:27pm, On One Part Of The Backfur Main Road...**

A group of officers stood at attention next to the road, looking at Nick and Judy. Their cars were parked nearby, and their cups of coffee were ready. It was search time.

Nick looked around and waved. "Hey guys! Good to have you all here."

The officers nodded back. Nick put his paws being his back. "Alright, so I won't waste time, because this IS important. We are looking for a human/cat type in a black coat. He was last seen running this direction, so some of you will be heading that way. Others will head to alleyways since the suspect seems to make good use of them. Even more will be watching the streets if the suspect decides to sneak out. Once you're in place, stay there until given further instructions. Don't approach him yet. Just let everyone else know where he is and what he is doing."

An elephant officer raised his hand. "And what will YOU two be doing?"

Judy was prepared with the answer. "We'll be asking around for anything that anyone may have seen. We'll let you know if anyone has seen something in your area."

The officers nodded, and Nick gave the order. "Alright, head out."

Everyone got moving, driving off to their discussed destinations. Nick and Judy meanwhile began their part, walking off and questioning the citizens that passed by. Some had questions about the human of course, but they simply disregarded them and asked the citizen to focus.

After a about an hour, as the moon and stars were starting to litter the sky, one encounter suddenly sparked some interest. Nick and Judy came across a mother ferret, her son walking near her. Nick approached her.

"Excuse me ma'am, can we speak to you a moment?"

The ferret mother turned to him with a look of annoyance. "If it's about that human business, I'd rather not talk about it."

Judy stood near Nick. "Please ma'am, any information you can provide would REALLY help us."

The ferret son piped up, waving his arm. "Oh! Oh! Is it about Tobias?

The mother grabbed him and begun to drag him away. "That's enough Carlson. Come on, we need to head home."

Nick and Judy recognized that name, and quickly caught up to them. Nick put a paw on her shoulder. "Ma'am wait! We need to talk to your son."

The mother shrugged the paw off and glared at them. "I will not let my son take part in this. We've already had a bad run in with that savage, we're not going to get any deeper."

Carlson, the son, pulled away from his mothers grasp. "But mother, he's not BAD. He's just scared!"

Judy came up to Carlson, bending down a bit to get on his level. "Is he? How do you know?"

"He held me for ransom once. He wasn't bad though! He helped me escape some bullied and talked with me. He told me he was scared about the situation going on."

Judy nodded. "I can imagine. Do you know where he is now?"

Carlson shook his head. "Nope. I haven't seen him since this morning. Why?"

"We're trying to find him so we can help him. If there's any info you can provide, just let us know, okay?"

Carlson thought. "Well... Now that you mention it, I think I know something that could help."

"Really? What is that?"

"He had some rose-scented spray with him the day we met. He said it reminded him of his mom and dad. He also said something about them being somewhere he can't reach them. Don't know what he meant by that."

Nick and Judy gave a concerned look to each other then looked back to Carlson, Judy patting his shoulder. "That IS some useful info. Thanks Carlson."

Carlson smiled and was pulled away by his mother. "Bye! Hope you find him!"

Nick and Judy waved back then turned to each other, nodding. Judy got her radio and spoke into it. "This is Officer Hopps to those involved in the search party. Is there anyone that have something involving roses near them?"

After a pause, a call came back. "This is Officer Henry from Yella street. I see a shop selling rose-scented spray near my current position... Hang on... I see him! Yes, I can confirm the suspect just walked into the alley next to the shop!"

Nick got his radio out. "Officer Wilde here. Officer Henry, keep an eye on that alley. We're on our way. All officers in that vicinity, head there quietly. Don't let the suspect see you."

Nick and Judy got in their own car and drove of to Yella street. They soon saw the large shop in question and parked in a shady spot, not easily seen to the naked eye. As they got out, they got another call. "This is Officer Henry. I just watched the suspect break into the shop via the air duct. Orders?"

Nick got on the radio. "Get near the air duct and stay put there. If you see him coming, don't let him get out."

"Understood. Holding position."

Nick and Judy headed back to the shop, seeing the two officers near the air duct and giving them a thumbs up. Four more officers came up and one of them quietly unlocked the door, disabling security to not cause a ruckus. Nodding to the others, Nick got back on the radio. "Officer Wilde here. Me and a few others are heading into the shop. I want radio silence until further notice."

After some acknowledgement, Nick nodded back, then he and Judy followed the other officers inside. The shop was decent sized, with multiple products on display. One of the officers whispered to Nick. "What do we do when we spot him?"

Nick turned to him. "Get close then subdue him. If he goes for his weapon, be ready to disarm him."

The officer nodded, then four of them, including Nick and Judy, spread out through the dark store, using their flashlights to see where they were going. To keep some stealth though, they pointed them down and partially covered it with a paw. The other two officers stood near the entrance to block it in case the suspect tried to flee using that.

There was a good ten minutes of silent searching, the officers eyes watching and listening out for any noises. Suddenly Judy, while walking near some magazine racks, heard an ever so subtle sound. The sound of a little piece of chocolate being crunched on. She ducked into the racks and peaked out.

Soon, she saw the outlines of a hooded figure walking her direction, then going over to another shelf, which seemed to be aforementioned cans of rose-scented spray. Knowing it had to be him, she held her breath and silently flashed her light in the air a few times, then crept up on the suspect, Tobias.

Before she could get close though, Tobias happened to turn, and with nowhere to hide, Judy was exposed. In a panic, she tried to leap at him, but he moved first and sprayed the spray at her face, getting it in her eyes and nose. Coughing, she ended up hurling herself into the other cans, making them and her crash into the floor as Tobias ran off.

Tobias turned the corner and saw the two officers at the entrance, and tried to run the other direction. Out of nowhere though, a moose officer, who had seen the light signal, tackled him to the ground and tried to get Tobias's paws behind his back. Tobias immediately went for his tranquilizer in his coat pocket, and held it right at the officer. The officer grabbed the gun's barrel and pointed it away just as it was shot as his other hand tried to grab Tobias's arm.

The tranquilizer that came out barely missed him, instead flying into a nearby shelf. It hit a support and sent the contents, a bunch of plant pots, forward into the aisle on top of the officer and Tobias. The officer kept a grip on the gun but lost some grip on Tobias's arm, and Tobias was forced to let go of the gun as he kicked the officer with both feet, sending him flying back.

Picking himself up, he ran off to the back of the store. The moose officer got on his radio. "Officers, this is Arny! I have the suspects weapon! He's heading to the back of the store!"

Acknowledgements came in, and the officers started heading there. Even Judy, who had manged to recover and wipe her eyes. Tobias crashed through the door and was quickly heading for the back door to the store. Before he got there though, the door opened, and two officers were seen, holding their stun guns towards him. Tobias yelped and darted another way, barely dodging the stun projectiles that were fires at him.

Tobias found himself running out of options, and thought at this point, he may as well jump out the window. Looking around though, he was horrified to find he had made a mistake that ruined that plan. He was in the item storage area, which meant there were NO windows. He heard the officers coming from the two exits, and knew his only option now was to find an air duct and crawl out somehow.

He began his climb up the shelving near the wall, looking around desperately for an air duct. He soon spotted one, and was about to make a beeline for it. However Nick managed to climb up there first, and quickly blocked it off. Tobias went the other way, but had to climb through some shelving to get to another candidate.

This is where he finally messed up. He squeezed through the first shelf, but when he tried to leap to the other one, his hands grabbed the paper on the shelf instead. He grabbed the shelf underneath, but the momentum from the swing down went into his chest, thanks to the shelf underneath. His breath was suddenly gone, leaving him no strength to climb up. Even when he tried, he couldn't do it, and his body gave up. He plummeted to the ground, landing into a box of packing foam to break his fall.

An officer quickly went behind the shelves on either side of him, and Nick and Judy appeared at the end. Coughing and wheezing, Tobias got out of the box and stumbled to the walls and shelving, feeling around desperately for something to defend himself with. There was nothing though. The wall was bare and the shelves only held more packing foam.

The other officers came up behind Nick and Judy, the former breathing a huge sigh of relief. He turned to them, giving them their keys. "Let the others know we have our suspect trapped, then get our car ready. We'll be taking him back to the station as soon as possible."

They nodded and headed off. Nick turned back to Tobias, who had given up and went behind the box, now sobbing in fear.

Tobias's mind was a racing mess, as he sobbed from his only slight hiding spot. They had done it. They had actually caught him. One mess up was all it took, and now he was screwed.

All he could hope now was that they didn't kill him... Or worse.

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**Hope that action was cool... Probably doesn't excuse the late upload, but whatever. Hope you're all staying safe during these dark times, and have a great rest of your day.**


	7. Cornered And Taken

The mood was tense in the storage area. Nick and Judy stood at the end of the walkway that went past the shelving, Tobias on the end hiding behind a box, his sobbing soon reduced to silent crying. An officer watched him from behind each side of shelving for any sudden movements, though they were pretty relaxed. The suspect was disarmed and had nowhere to run, which meant he had finally given up running.

As they waited for other officers to return, Nick and Judy silently talked, glancing occasionally to the box Tobias was hiding behind. Nick kept giving worried looks.

"Jeez... I'm not gonna lie Judy, I'm glad we finally got this guy, but... I can't help but feel sorry for him."

Judy patted him on the arm. "We did what we had to, Nick. Once we have him in custody, we can start to find out what's going on with him."

"Hopefully the rest of the team will treat him with care. I really don't want to go on ANOTHER wild goose chase."

"I'm sure they will."

Just then, the officers came back, one of them speaking. "They've been informed and are heading off. Car is out back ready to take this guy in."

Nick and Judy nodded, then turned to the box. Nick spoke to the other two officers. "Stay here and don't let him out."

Carefully, he and Judy came towards the box. They heard Tobias sniffling and whimpering as they approached, and bent down near the sides of the box. In a soft voice, Judy spoke. "Hello?"

Tobias flinched and immediately backed away, terrified paranoia on his slightly covered face. He ended up in the corner with a shelf and wall, and kept his head low, looking to the ground. Nick and Judy kept moving forward, slow and careful.

Judy kept talking, calm and soothing. "Hey, take it easy, buddy. We're not here to hurt you."

Tobias said nothing, his arms hugging himself and his head still hung low. Even his tail slightly wrapped around his torso. Nick and Judy crept forward, Judy reaching out to him.

Tobias pressed himself into the corner as much as he could, but inevitably had nowhere to go. Judy's paw soon lay on the scared hybrid's leg, making him wince and shiver.

They heard his weak voice, desperate and crackly. "I'm sorry... Please... No..."

Nick rubbed his paw on his shoulder. "Hey, don't sweat it. Whatever's going on, we're here to help you. Honest."

Tobias lifted his head a bit. The two officers saw his sad eyes looking at them, tears streaming down, as he clutched himself desperately. Judy gave a warm smile and used her paw to wipe some of his tears. "It's okay. We're friends."

Nick carefully lifted Tobias's hood back, showing his skin and fur head. Judy silently gasped at how he looked. Tobias still heard though, and his voice raised a bit, covering his head with his arms. "D-don't look at me!"

Nick and Judy quickly averted their eyes, looking at Tobias's coat. Tobias carefully lowered his arm, until he knew they weren't looking, and spoke, back to his quiet whimper. "Don't look... I'm a freak... A dangerous, controversial freak..."

As much as Nick wanted to make a dumb remark, he knew he had to be serious for the moment, and rubbed Tobias's arm. "Don't worry. You made some mistakes and I'm sure you had your reasons. Whatever is going on is obviously not normal, is it?"

Tobias shook his head. "N-no... It's horrible..."

Judy nodded, daring to look up a bit. "That's why we're here. If we're going to help you with what's going on, we need you to help us understand what that IS. You'll be safe with us, alright?"

Tobias sniffed, an expression of sad wanting on his face. Finally, he nodded back. "O-okay..."

Judy smiled and carefully put Tobias's hood back over him, then stood and offered a paw. Tobias took it and, on shaky legs, stood up, Nick holding his arm for support. They lead him out of the little walkway and to the other waiting officers. Tobias held the two tight, keeping them close as he passed the other officers.

He was soon lead out through the back door of the shop by Nick and Judy, the other officers on the side juuuuust in case he made a break for it. Three police cars stood in the lot, ready to head out. Nick opened the back passenger door of the middle car and helped Tobias in, who buckled himself. Once the officers were in their own cars, they drove of, the car with Tobias staying in the middle of the pack.

There was mostly silence as they headed back to the station. As Judy drove, checking where she was going, Nick chilled out and looked around for suspicious activity, as well as occasionally looking back to check on Tobias. He himself sat in his seat, looking nervously out the window and ducking a bit when he saw the occasional night pedestrian out for a stroll.

The pedestrians who saw them gave the trio of police cars confused looks. One of them, a young bear, seemed to look a bit closely then dashed off. No one seemed to really notice.

Eventually the cars got to the station, but not to the normal, quiet entrance like they expected. Instead, night and nocturnal animals were standing around, cameras and microphones at the ready, as a couple of officers were trying to shoo them away. As soon as the cars came around the corner, they swarmed the cars, looking around and inside. Tobias immediately started freaking out, ducking his head and pulling his hoodie over his head. "N-no! Make them stop! Make them stop!"

Judy looked around in shock at the sudden attention, then gestured to the other two cars. The officers inside immediately pulled maneuvers, honking their horns to move the crowd aside and getting into position. The car with Nick, Judy and Tobias pulled up, and another cars pulled up parallel. Once they were out, all of them, including the ones near the station, moved parts of the crowd aside as Nick and some bigger officers headed for Tobias's door.

Tobias had undone his seatbelt, and had gone to the floor of the car, trying to hide from the unwanted attention. The bigger officers stood in front of and behind Nick as he opened the door, looking down at the terrified human/cat. He patted a paw on his back. "Come on buddy. The sooner we get you inside, the sooner we can get away from these vultures."

Tobias silently nodded, and Nick reached out his paw. Tobias took it and used his other to keep his hood pulled down as he was helped out of the car. Nick held him close and Judy quickly got the other side, then the larger officers got beside THEM as they came out from the gap between the cars.

The crowd immediately started to try to surround them and take pictues, but the officers kept their arms out to move them, and Nick and Judy held a hyperventilating Tobias as they lead him inside. He stumbled and kept his head low, trying to stay out of any pictures the cameras were taking. They soon made it to the doors of the police station, where two officers were waiting. They held the doors open as the group approached, and once Nick, Judy and Tobias was through, the doors were closed and the officers beside them stood in front, keeping the crowd from proceeding.

Tobias looked around the uncharted territory, ducking away from any officers that passed by. As he approached a desk with Nick, Judy and a few other officers, he glanced up, seeing what seemed to be a chubby cheetah sitting at reception. He looked to the group and gave a wave, looking interested at Tobias. "Hey guys! Who's this hooded fellow?"

Judy smiled a bit and gestured. "This is they guy that everyone has been talking about, Clawhauser."

Clawhauser gave a small gasp and looked to Tobias. "Oooh... you're that weird human?"

Tobias gave a shy nod, his head still low and covered. Judy gave him a small pull forward. "Hey, don't worry. Clawhauser is one of the nicest guys around here in the station."

Tobias moved forward enough to stand near the desk, and looked a little up at Clawhauser, who put a paw over his mouth seeing him. "Woah, crazy."

Nick came up to him, smiling. "Don't look too close. You might make him fall and break."

Clawhauser averted his eyes a bit. "Oh, sorry. I don't want to make him break."

Nick chuckled, then got a bit more serious. "Say Clawhauser, any idea why we have media trying to storm our place?"

Clawhauser looked worriedly at Tobias. "Well, not to put pressure on your friend here, but I heard someone tipped them off that we were bringing the human in."

This caused concerned looks from everyone around. Except Tobias, who immediately became guilty and whimpered. Nick gave him a reassuring pat on the arm then looked to Clawhauser. "If you hear anything about who might have done it, let us know."

Clawhauser nodded. "Of course!"

Just then, an ox officer came from nearby and headed up to the group, looking to Nick and Judy. "Hey guys, Chief is looking for you."

Nick gave a knowing look. "No doubt he wants to hear about us getting this guy to safety. Probably without me screwing up again."

Judy rolled her eyes. "I'd say that's a given."

Nick chuckled and started to head off, but felt Tobias clinging to his arm. "P-please... Don't leave me..."

Nick was almost tempted to bring him with them, but having a bad feeling about introducing nervous Tobias to tough Bongo, he simply turned and wiggled his arm free. "Don't worry, we'll be back soon. These guys are cool."

The other officers nodded, the ox one grinning. "Of course! Besides, you think anything will happen to you when we got these?"

He pulled out a tazer and showed it off, chuckling and holding the button down. Electricity flowed between the metal prongs, buzzing loudly.

However, this electric current made Tobias freak out. He went wide eyed at the electricity, then ducked behind Nick, covering his head in fear. "KEEP THAT AWAY FROM ME!

The officers jumped at the unexpected reaction. The ox looked to the tazer and immediately turned it off and put it away, putting out a reassuring hoof. "Alright, it's cool. It's gone."

Tobias shuddered from behind Nick, who gave a worried look to Judy. She returned it, before giving glances to Clawhauser. He reached over and pulled out a small box of donuts, offering them to Tobias. "Did you want one? I find they help me relax when I'm stressed."

Tobias glanced over at him, then the donuts, his stomach giving a growl. He carefully reached out, then snatched a chocolate one up and dashed behind the desk next to Clawhauser, ducking under. The other officers heard him devouring the donut, and they gave Clawhauser an approving smile. Nick, Judy and and a few other officers headed off as the others stayed around the desk, keeping an eye out.

Clawhauser looked down to Tobias, who was looking up to him hungrily. He smiled and offered another donut, which Tobias eagerly took and ate. Clawhauser then looked back forward, his attention back to his reception duties. The other officers still hanging around chatted quietly, leaning against the desk.

The crowd outside could be seen finally leaving, though the officers were still wary. With the human now in their building, it was only a matter of time before another media strike would happen, so they had to be ready.

* * *

**And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the final chapter I wrote while on that vacation. If there's enough interest, I'll certainly try to get more out in the future. Thanks for reading thus far, and have a great rest of your day.**


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